Koka Booth Ampitheatre
Cary, NC
June 18th, 2005
Review By: Steve C
Sunny and I were at the Cary NC show last night also. This was an Opry show and so we checked with one of the sound guys to find out when Patty was going to be on. We had hoped she was going to be early in the show so we could leave early, but she was the headliner and so was on after an hour of mostly old timers and others we did not know well or at all. She came after intermission about and hour and a half into the show. It is very hard to be patient waiting to see her, but we did.
I had a nice chat with Dave, her road manager, in the intermission. Patty was not going to be doing any meet and greets, which we did not expect in this kind of concert.
The venue is outdoors and frankly not very comfortable. The plastic chairs were very small and sitting on a bit of an hill going up to the stage. Where we were we were constantly afraid we would fall over backwards. The sound for the early acts was not great either.
But, finally Patty and band came on the stage and things got much better. Her sound and lighting very very much better than the earlier acts - I presume because Dave was doing the work. Her voice was crystal clear and very powerful. She was hitting every note with force and holding those long notes very long. We were impressed and pleased. She had a lot of energy and enthusiasm and, of course, looked gorgeous as always.
Deanie and the band were also clear and strong and I did not notice any early tour problems - even the new people seemed to be right on. This was our first chance to see Kylie perform. She seemed quite happy to be there with a lot of smiling - much like Marcia in the beginning. She is very pretty and did nice backup work.
Patty did six songs including the new single and the title song Dreamin My Dreams. This was our first time to hear Dreamin My Dreams and we liked it a lot. She did a fine job fitting it in with her other songs. The new album is going to be very well received we predict. When you are looking forward to hearing new songs just as much as the old favorites, that is a good sign that the album will be especially great.
I did not get any photos. They allowed cameras - except ones with detachable lenses! Next time I will remember to bring a little pocket camera also just in case.
Anyway, we braved the heat, the humidity, the less than great crowd, the opry folks, and were thrilled to see Patty for our 23rd time. Looking forward to five more shows this season.
